Let’s settle this once and for all. Did Quaid get his ass to Mars, or didn’t he?

In case you needed a reminder, this man was once the Governor of California.

MELINA (overwhelmed): Quaid, I can’t believe it…It’s like a dream.

On hearing her words, Quaid’s expression turns grim and confused.

MELINA (CONT’D): What’s wrong?

QUAID

I just has a terrible thought…What is this is all a dream?

MELINA

Then kiss me quick…before you wake up.

Those are the last lines from “Total Recall.” Since those words were uttered and the final credits rolled, fans have been debating their meaning: was the whole thing after Quaid sits down for his Rekall session just a dream?

Not Quaid, Arnold. Though I would pay to hear him tell himself to “Get your ass to Sacramento!”

In the DVD commentary, both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Verhoeven seem to come down on the side of “all a dream.”* The outlandish twisting nature of the plot does support that interpretation; the only way all of this could make sense is if this was all the product of Quaid’s fantasy and the Rekall-manufactured vacation gone wrong.

But that may just be a crutch that the filmmakers are using to excuse the parts of the movie that don’t make sense. Aliens on Mars? Oxygenating the atmosphere in 10 minutes? Cohaagen’s plan to turn Hauser into unwitting double-agent Quaid? Maybe Verhoeven and the screenwriters had wanted all of it to be passable as reality during the production process, but in retrospect saw that it all didn’t add up and have been trying to excuse any weaknesses in the plot by calling it “all a dream.”

I could go on with different points of argument from both sides of the argument, and you could find plenty of them yourself on various other websites, but none of those websites are us. Call me vain, but I think our site’s writers and commenters represent the internet’s best and brightest (and most entertaining) pop culture analysts, and as such, no one else is as qualified to settle this argument as us, the Overthinking It Community.

Settle down in a comfy chair. Review the script or rewatch the movie if you have to. Once you’ve made your decision, cast your vote and help us decide: In “Total Recall,” did the events depicted after Quaid’s Rekall procedure actually happen?

Yes! Quaid actually got his ass to Mars!

No! Quaid never got his ass to Mars!

Notice there are only two choices in the poll. Now, I know that this movie was made with ambiguity in mind, but I don’t want anyone to have the cop-out option. Quaid either got his ass to Mars, or he didn’t. This isn’t Schrödinger‘s Ass on Mars we’re talking about here.

So do your analysis, cast your vote, and make your case in the comments! Remember, we’re solving this on behalf of the entire Internet and settling this debate for all time, so choose wisely!

In "Total Recall," did the events depicted after Quaid's Rekall procedure actually happen?

P.S. While you’re doing your analysis, you may want some appropriate dream-related music to listen to. Enjoy:

Updated February 14, 2016: When I originally published this article in 2009, I hadn’t really thought about an end date for the poll. Since then, it’s racked up over 15,000 votes, and over the past few years, the results have stabilized at around 60%“No, never got his ass to Mars.” When you step back and think objectively about the evidence for and against, I understand why the majority of votes land in the “no” column, but ultimately, the greatness of the film lies in its ambiguous ending and the possibility that either outcome could be possible.

I’ll keep the poll open for now and will update this post if the results shift significantly one way or the other. Until then, check out more of our in-depth Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger analyses.

—

*Can someone confirm this in the comments? One Internet message board commenter insists that both Arnold and Verhoeven agree with “dream,” but Wikipedia claims that they are of differing opinions.

86 Comments on “Total Recall: Dream or Not A Dream? Let’s Settle This Once And For All”

In determining whether Quaid’s experience was a dream or the reality in this film, we need to look not at the end, but at the beginning.

The fact that Quaid knew before his Rekall experience that he wanted to go to Mars and kept having vivid dreams about the experience makes it known that Mars is colonized and that he has enough familiarity with the experience to have these repetitious dreams over and over again with the same details played out every time.

The plot holes are not big enough in this film to justify completely throwing out the reality hypothesis. An example would be that we do not know how big the reactor is on this film, but obviously it is massive enough to justify colonization and mining operations. A large percentage of Mars under the surface could be affected by this reactor, or the reactor shown could have been a master control for many reactors throughout the planet; think of the gas generators in SimEarth.

It’s a dream. When his work buddy Harry tries to kill Quaid, he says “you blabbed about Mars”. The only 4 people presepresent when Quaid says this are the Rekall salesman, two scientists, and receptionist. One of them would have to be planted by Cohagen for Harry to actually find this out in reality. The first 3 seem genuinely surprised by the freakout. I doubt the nail changing receptionist is in on the conspiracy.

The only REASON for colonizing Mars, would be mining and tourism. The Rekall people expressly said that part of the “ego-trip” fantasy plot was a “blue sky on Mars” (the reactor), and “two headed monsters” (Quaato), which would be impossible to be a coincidence if there was a secret reactor.
And anyway, it doesn’t make any sense that a secret agent would be given amnesia and then made a construction-worker, since there was no clear method for his going to Mars and finding Quaato from there.
But like I said before: FICTION DOESN’T HAVE TO MAKE SENSE!

Total Recall wasn’t a dream – the sky is blue because of the new atmosphere as a direct result of the events that occurred. Quaid worked with the company until they wiped his memory to use him as a spy in order to kill the revolution leader. When they wiped his memory it allowed him a new perspective on life; and his newfound understanding allowed him to make the right decision (turn on machine, give air to the people) instead of going back with the company like he was before. The fact that he chose all of the options in his screening room was a nod to dreams, reality, and manifesting our destinies. The man clearly states “We didn’t turn the machine on yet” when Quaid starts freaking out. The rest of the misdirection from the company about “Take the pill or terrible things will happen” and the effort his fake wife goes through to get him to stop is just an effort to protect their investment and kill Quaid before he turns on the Martian machine. It is another level of misdirection. Anyone who does not see what I am saying is humorous.

The whole movie is a testament to memory, dreams, the recognition of self, and the ability to change.﻿ Quaid is working with a corrupt company on Mars until they set up his whole backstory, wipe him, and send him to infiltrate the revolution. He wakes up to morality, compassion, empathy – ergo he dissolves his EGO and realizes what is real. If you think it was all a dream – you are trapped in EGO.

The real question of the movie is as follows:
Do you think it is a dream? If so, you would take the pill or do whatever the company/spouse said – i.e. you do nothing or worse.

Do you know it is real? If so, you do something about it like Quaid did – that’s the Ego part of it. The music in the credits was to make more people doubt the truth – i.e. doubt themselves. WHOOSH﻿!

That’s why it the movie is called TOTAL RECALL – he totally recalls himself

“In 2084, construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. His wife Lori (Sharon Stone) dismisses the dreams and discourages him from thinking about Mars, where the governor, Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), is fighting rebels while searching for a rumored alien artifact located in the mines. At Rekall, a company that provides memory implants of vacations, Quaid opts for a memory trip to Mars as a Secret Agent fantasy. However, during the procedure, before the memory is implanted, something goes wrong, and Quaid starts revealing previously suppressed memories of actually being a Secret Agent. The company sedates him, wipes his memory of the visit, and sends him home.”

I implore everyone to research and watch again…try and remember it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

“Quaid is the only one who isn’t real – Hauser and Cohagen invented Quaid as a means to infiltrate the mutant underground (Quaid was created when Cohagen wiped Hauser). This artificial personality is more humane than either of these men – and it is in this that Total Recall touches on the same idea as explored in Blade Runner (Ridley Scott aslo directed) – synthetic minds outpacing natural minds in regards to empathy; and thus becoming more human than humans.”

Wow, I’m actually surprised that “Yes, Quaid got his ass to Mars” is ahead in the poll. One good piece of evidence for “dream” is the scene where the Rekall guy appears on Mars to tell Quaid all of the terrible things that will happen to him if he doesn’t take the pill and exit the dream.

But I want to believe that Quaid did get his ass to Mars. It makes the film much more satisfying of an experience. Endings where it’s revealed to be all a dream tend to leave viewers feeling betrayed and dissatisfied. “St. Elsewhere” is an obvious example:

Truth is stranger than fiction; the Rekall people expressly said that the Ego-trip fantasy involved him BECOMING A SECRET AGENT, a BLUE SKY ON MARS, and a TWO-HEADED MONSTER.
So what does Quaid encounter? He BECOMES A SECRET AGENT, ENCOUNTERS A SECRET AGENT, and a BLUE SKY ON MARS.
So what are the odds of this being real? Yep– ZERO.
Also for it to be real, the doctor from the Rekall commercial, supposedly makes a trip to Mars and risks his life just to talk to Quaid, because he’s ALSO in on the conspiracy; and he accurately predicts how it will end, i.e. with him and Cohaagen becoming best friends.
But sure, ignore the obvious to make it more satisfying…. and they wonder why James Bond movies are so fricking dumb.

His wife was a plant, the whole beginning was a psychological ploy to get him back on Mars to kill the revolution leader so the company would have complete control of all Martians, resources, etc. After he has exhausted his purpose they attempt to kill him and keep him from realizing his ACTUAL dream of entering the Martian ship and activating the device.

The end credits are to make you doubt yourself to every extent – as any company would do to protect their investment. I assure you it is all very concrete.

Okay, I am assuming none of you have seen the movie from a disc, or listened to the Verhoeven commentary then, because this isn’t a question that is open to debate, the director specifically says it is a dream, and points out several proofs throughout the film. It’s Verhoeven’s movie, so whatever he says is the way it is. He even specifies that he made the ending screen go white to indicate Quade being lobotomized, just like the doctor said. He also says they were going to shoot a final scene in Rekall to show a sad Sharon Stone as Quade is lobotomized, but they were so wildly over budget already there was no way they could do it, and they decided it would make more money if it wasn’t a pointedly sad movie. None of these things are open for debate, they are what the director decided and did himself according to – THE DIRECTOR. lol Who cares what some film critic or viewer writes when the guy who made the movie is saying what actually happened? That’s like arguing with George Lucas about where Han Solo grew up – wherever Lucas says, because HE IS THE ONE WHO MADE IT UP, folks!

P.S. they always have all sorts of theories on what “happened” in Star Wars movies, too– just look at Youtube, and they come up with all sorts of theories from various books etc. as if it’s ALL what Lucas intended– when Lucas didn’t even READ those books, let alone VALIDATE their intent as being his own.
These idiots just don’t realize that FICTION IS WHATEVER THE AUTHOR WANTS– not what some online mommy’s-basement armchair-attorney thinks he can “prove” based on evidence and logic!

When Quaid was in the chair and they were asking him to describe what type of woman he is attracted to, you saw a picture of Melina on the screen. That is too large a coincidence to get past and the best proof that it was all a dream.

Yes, but at the beginning of the movie, when Quaid was dreaming, Melina was in that dream, and that is before he ever went to Rekall. So the fact that she also appears onscreen at Rekall is just a movie hole, and not an indicator that the entire movie is a dream.

Or the fact that he THINKS he sees her on the screen, from the other pictures that just look similar, shows the beginning of his reality breaking down, i.e. he might be schizoid, and thus the schizoid embolism.

AND the “two-headed monster,” i.e. Quaato.
That’s three strikes– not to mention the doctor from the Rekall commercial, supposely being part of the conspiracy, and deciding to travel to Mars and risk his life by confronting a secret agent with a gun, to convince him it’s a fantasy– what purpose would that serve, if it was real? Because they had to convince Quaid that he was being stalked by the bad guys? He already KNEW that!
None of the “reality” scenario makes any sense.
The ego-trip was obviously to make the person believe that they went to Venusville, met a bunch of mutants and Quaato, terraformed Mars, and then became friends with the governor of Mars, and they get a lot of neat pictures and momentos over it; and of course the person knows it was all for fun to make the vacation more interesting. But those who think it was real, are exactly what went wrong with Quaid, i.e. he also wanted to believe it was real and so he flipped out and got lobotomized.

If it was a dream, then why would the Dr. attempt to have him swallow a pill? What good would that do? Is it a medication that only works when ingested while your dreaming? Why wouldn’t they simply inject it into him while he’s sleeping in the chair at recall?
I always tended to lean towards “reality” for this movie. The pre-rekall dreams, the facial expressions from his wife and co-worker when he talks about going to rekall, and the popping a memory cap is what sways me. He talked enough about going to rekall that the agents planted in this life to monitor him, would have placed all kinds of monitoring devices on the rekall company itself. That’s how they knew where he was and what he said.
Though, I must admit, the fade to white and rekall jingle at the end are interesting arguments…but I tend to think they are put in to further this debate.

@Gerant: the Rekall scene is indeed pivotal. We see the employees sedate Quaid, then put him away in a taxi. Then Quaid comes to in the taxi, and he’s off on his adventure.

In the “dream” interpretation, how are we supposed to interpret the time between his sedation and him waking up in the taxi? Is that “part of his dream,” or did that actually happen? Does his “dream” essentially start when he wakes up in the cab?

Quaid HALLUCINATED his being sedated.
EVERYTHING that happens after his being put in the chair at Rekall, is a dream– except the scene with the doctor from Rekall trying to talk him into taking the “Red Pill.” But unlike Neo, Quaid spits it out, and so he stays in the Matrix until he’s lobtomized.
To be real, Cohaagen would have had to bribe the same doctor from the Rekall commerical, to come to Mars, risk his life to confront Quaid and convince him it was a fantasy, and to take a pill? That would serve no purpose whatsoever. In the movie-plot, Cohaagen just wanted Quaid to think he was his enemy, so that he’d infiltrate Venusville and find Quaato; it wouldn’t make any sense to try to convince him it was a dream and take some pill, as well as getting the doctor from the Rekall commercial just to seem genuine. It defies all credibility.

The female Rekaller in charge of Quaid’s trip flicks her assistant the Rekall program which I assume holds all the fantasies Quaid would like to experience. He catches it and comments, “That’s a new one, blue sky on Mars.”

After a little chit chat concerning Quaid’s relationship with his wife the assistant says “All systems are go.”

The Rekaller now states and questions, “Then we’re set. Ready for dream land?”

I believe that it is here that you will find the definitive pivot point. The moment we see Quaid receive his sedative is the beginning of his Rekall. Quaid groans and our adventure begins.

As for all the exposition between here and the taxi, I’m prone to think that this exists for the same reason Richter exists outside of Quaids own personal experience. I assume that Rekall works much like an on-line RPG. The implanted memory is more than just Quaid’s personal experience, it’s a universe of characters and scenarios that as a whole complete Quaid’s Rekall.

And so to answer your question straight… Yes, I believe it’s all a dream after that specific pivot point.

On a different note:
I’ve been frequenting Overthinkingit.com for most of this year and have thoroughly enjoyed almost every article. Even subjects I have no interest in have become far more intriguing thanks to this site. Thanks for the good times! It’s been fun to weigh in on something I care passionately about so I am sure that you will be hearing more from me over the following Verhoeverthinking It week!

It’s hard to know exactly how the Rekall process works, but it basically is supposed to be a 2-week experience that’s implanted in about 30 minutes, and is indestinguishable from a real memory; but it went horribly wrong, so Quaid is stuck in it, and ends up in a hospital– and the chief doctor from Rekall comes to try to talk him into taking the Red Pill.
Yes, Quaid had dreams about being on Mars with Melina; but he also dreams that his helmet breaks and his face explodes, so clearly that didn’t really happen.

@gerant: Thanks, glad you’re enjoying the site, and thanks for contributing to this discussion!

As for the exposition in question here (when Quaid flips out and the employees give him emergency sedation), I find it hard to believe that all of that was intended to be part of Quaid’s adventure. According to the dream interpretation, there are things that Rekall intended to happen and things that Rekall did not intend to happen. Quaid flipping out is clearly part of the latter.

In other words, I think this exposition sequence of events is “real.” Something actually goes wrong, and the Rekall employees actually sedate him and put him in a cab.

From there, one of two things happen:

“All a Dream” option: Quaid doesn’t wake up in the cab. He keeps dreaming and experiences his adventure on Earth, then Mars. Meanwhile, in reality, he’s found in the cab unconscious and presumably taken back to Rekall for further “treatment.”

“All Reality” option: Quaid wakes up in the cab and the events of the movie actually occur.

Actually the “All a Dream” option would be that Quaid is never IN a cab; he’s taken to a hospital, and the chief doctor from Rekall contacts him through a console, and offers him a “Red Pill” to get him out of the Matrix.
But of course Quaid is paranoid and so thinks that it’s a lie to get him to abandon his mission, because of course EVERYONE is in on the conspiracy against him.

And let me ask another question. IF it’s all a dream, what do we make of the mysterious man who comes to Quaid’s room on Mars, and tells him it’s all a dream. He explains that the program has gone wrong, and if Quaid doesn’t take the pill as a symbolic gesture of wanting to wake up, he’ll stay in the dream indefinitely. Is this just a pre-scripted twist to the spy story? Or is the guy being totally honest – he really WAS sent by Rekall to try and help Quaid out of the fantasy?

That was not a “mysterious man,” that was the chief doctor from the Rekall commercial, from where Quaid got the idea to go to Rekall in the first place in order to visit Mars in a fantasy.
When Quaid suffered the schizoid embolism, that doctor naturally took over Quaid’s case, and used a Rekall console to communicate with Quaid since he figured that Quaid would trust him due to knowing him from the commercial– since it would make no sense that he’d be part of a conspiracy on Mars.
So the doctor tried to give him a “Red Pill” to get him out of the “Matrix.”
But Quaid was paranoid and so he thought it was all part of the conspiracy.

The “plausible explanation” for the instant atmosphere, would be that it was obviously just a fantasy, and didn’t really happen. If it DID happen, then obviously it would be much more complex, since the technology would not only make Mars a habitable planet, but obviously it would put humanity thousands of years ahead, and would be able to do that to ANY sizable planet like the moons, or the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, etc.

But how, to those who think he got to Mars, do you explain that the scenes were he chooces what kind of Rekall-Holiday he want’s, the pics out all the elements that later come true? He’s wants to be a secret agent and he even pics his dream woman to be part of his dream and she looks exactly like Rachel Ticotin.

The one thing I always got confused with about Total Recall was if Quaid was Hauser, then how did he know Melina? And why did Melina know Hauser as Quaid. Thats one big fucking plot hole in my book, unless someone can explain that.

Apparently the movie-plot (or Quaid’s hallucination) was that Hauser and Melina knew each other from before Hauser went to work for Cohaagen, and so Cohaagen implanted the memory of his being Quaid, a construction-worker, who was supposed to go to Mars and infiltrate Venusville to find Quaato– which other agents couldn’t do, because the telepathic mutants could read minds. But because Hauser had a memory-cap, the mutants believed that Quaid was a good guy, and so they took him to Quaato, and this led Cohaagen to him, allowing him to crush the rebellion– until Quaid broke loose and started the reactor.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the film, but – in support of the “ass to Mars” side of the argument – isn’t it explained to Quaid that that everything in his mundane life (i.e. the first bit of the film) was in fact the dream, and that the action-packed, “see you at the party” stuff was the reality? The visit to Rekall is his wake up call.

This way, references to future occurrences, such as his taste in women, type of desired vacation, etc. are merely him dreaming about things in his real life.

Yep, and maybe I just THOUGHT I was playing DOOM, but it was really just part of the game-plot, and I was actually the marine saving the planet from Hell. Because that’s how silly it is, to claim that it was real.

I’ve taken the film to be entirely a dream sequence after he first falls asleep in the chair at Rekall. His awakening and flipping out is all part of the memory “experience” he paid for as a secret agent. The details of the description of the secret agent package are too coincidental.

Therefore, I take it that the head of Rekall really is inserted to help guide Quaid out of his mental delusion. Hence at the end, when the screen turns to white right after the big romantic kiss, that’s Quaid’s brain fading away while he is being lobotomized. And that’s the kind of ending I expect from Verhoeven.

Let’s be honest, there’s no use deducing Total Recall in hopes of finding some backbone coherency connecting it all into a logical, understandable plotline.

The scene where the man from Rekall comes into the apartment and offers Quaid a red-pill offers no insight to the question at hand. Why shouldn’t he be pre-programmed into the story? Furthermore, Quaid sees the man sweating (which, in theory, a digital fabrication would have no reason to do), so there’s enough evidence for either conclusion.

Isn’t the whole idea of Rekall to make an experience that Quaid doesn’t know is false? Wouldn’t the best way to do that be to thrust him into a situation where he has reason to question whether or not the recall worked? If the company raised to the expectations it proclaims for itself, the only way to give a one-hundred percent satisfactory recall experience is to make the client actually believe, in his core, the fabrication is, in fact, real.

If you have to stretch the argument that thin, it clearly doesn’t hold up. It’s supposed to be a memory, not a living experience where he makes decisions. Dr. Edgemar (Roy Hendricks) wouldn’t be implanted, because he was in the commercial, and it would sort of ruin the realism, like if you were supposedly working with the CIA, and and Sylvester Stallone pops in as your assigned sidekick, John Rambo. GAME OVER! That’s a DREAM!

I am for it all being a dream. After the fight scene with his “planted” wife. She tels him “what can I say, your whole life is a dream”..however for those who believe it’s not a dream, if you pay attention to the scene where the rekall salesman is telling him about the cost of the trip, you can see the receptionist watching them suspiciously through the window, and immediately get on the phone with someone. This may explain how his co-worker knew he went to rekall.

my first opinion was: when he fall asleep for the first time is where the dream begin (all of the dream setup/preparation is there in the dream). but there was too much other things in the movie that got me in confusion.

I realized after seeing this comment that almost all get in place if the guy with the red pill was really implanted because this scene is another pivot point (i think). i was already thinking : hey, if in his vacation dream at rekall, he kill his wife and then release an atmosphere on mars, how the hell he is going to think that this dream was really his vacations when he will wake up. just going to wake up, take a taxi to home, say hello to his wife and check the news seeing terrorist on mars and etc…Rekall said it would be as real as real vacation it got to be sync’ing
with his reality somehow.

the guy with the pill said if he kill him and refuse to get back, he is going live his dream up to the end then be lobotomized. i think he cannot get back from this and then say nothing of this appened

The vacation wasn’t supposed to go that way where he kills his wife; it all went horribly wrong. He’s supposed to find Quaato and start the reactor, create a blue sky on Mars, beat the bad guy and save the day– VACATION OVER.
Of course he’d know that it didn’t really happen that way, it was called an “ego trip,” but it was supposed to be a fun fantasy that would feel like he was really a hero, like a James Bond movie.

The answer: NEITHER! IT’S FICTION! It doesn’t HAVE to make sense!
In Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Nose,” an absurd series of events takes place involving a barber finding his customer’s nose in his bread, and his wife accuses him of cutting it off on purpose; the nose then disguises itself as an ambassador, which is arrested as an imposter and returned to the customer. The “surprise ending” is that Gogol was simply bored and started writing nonsense; meanwhile the moral is that fiction doesn’t have to make sense.
Here we have a similarly absurd plot where Dorothy chooses to remain in Oz, and we’re expected to seriously consider that perhaps she’s really there. And even this made no sense, since Cohaagen could not have possibly wanted to send Dr. Edgemar, a memory-salesman, to Mars to risk his life to get gun-wielding Quaid to take a Red Pill, if Coahagen was using him to infiltrate the aliens– including the “2-headed monster” mentioned in the Rekal ego-trip description, who turns out to be Quaato, to avoid the “blue sky on Mars” which eventually comes along as well?
Sorry, Toto, you’re still in Kansas…. lobotomized.
But of course fiction doesn’t have to make sense, so it’s whatever the author intended– including leaving it deliberately ambiguous.

It’s a psychotic break, and in fact, Quade’s reality after it all goes wrong. He never wakes up from the fantasy.
1) Blue sky on mars mentioned by assistant right at the start
2) Melina’s Picture chosen from the database
3) The Alien Ice-Melting Machine shown on the choices for alien artifacts

These three things prove it’s a dream.

Everything from after the sedate him. All a dream. Until… he actually has a psychotic break. His brain, presumably prone to flights of fancy and the idea that he is meant for something more, refuses to believe he his dreaming. He continues the story and twists it… killing his wife etc. This should leave the audience satisfied as it’s technically not a dream.. it’s Quade’s reality from which he never escapes. I think he probably was developing mental health issues before recall and the trip did the rest.

I believe the events of the film really happened based on one thing.
Quaid is not present in every scene.
Had the movie stuck with Quaid the entire time, this would be one thing because his delusion would build a world centered entirely around him that could not exist without him being there. That would make perfect sense for the dream scenario.
However, there are many occasions where the film leaves him to show other characters interacting, sometimes miles away from his location, even staging traps which he falls right into. These things would not occur independently of the character had it all been a delusion, because the characters would require his presence to exist.

Three words: IT’S A MOVIE!
It doesn’t HAVE to make sense!
At the start of the movie, Quaid has a dream about being on Mars with the girl before he picks her out, and then he died from movie-decompression; but then the Rekall technicians talk about details from the dream etc.
And note this: there’s no sequel! If Mars became an Earth-like planet with alien technology, wouldn’t that merit a sequel?

I say no its not a dream and yes Quaid got his ass to Mars. The human brain cannot dream a face its never seen before, so because he recognizes and clearly has an established romantic relationship with Melina before we’re even introduced to her character means he had to have known her in the real world. We aren’t given enough evidence beforehand to assume she was an ex or someone saw on TV.

There is enough evidence that points to Quaid’s entire experience being a dream/nighmare as well as actually having taken place. I believe the writers deliberately made the movie ambiguous because then it causes fans to talk about the film and watch the film over and over again repeatedly. This in turn results in more publicity for the movie leading to an increase in sales, thus boosting revenue and total profit. The bottom line is that the movie can be interpreted both ways and the active debate of the film makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.

True, maybe they tried to make it ambiguous; but they didn’t do a very good job, if they say that the ego-trip has a “blue sky on Mars,” and that’s exactly what happens— and then the film just ENDS despite that there would be massive additional consequences either way; i.e. either the world changes with super-advanced alien technology, or he gets lobotomized. Either way it’s a deus ex machina, i.e. DOT’S ALL, FOHKS!”

Although not perfect, I think the filmmakers did a great job. Remember Dr. Edgemar started sweating after Quaid took the red pill which indicated that the entire experience was real. Furthermore how do you explain that Quaid dreamed about Melina before even going to Rekall. It’s also possible that Cohaagen gave Rekall some knowledge of Mars which might explain the images on the screen that Doug looked at just before falling asleep; remember Doug saying to Edgemar “How much is Cohaagen paying you for this?”. Also, Doug getting lobotomized just as he kisses the girl and saves the day is big coincidence. If this was really a dream then Doug could have been lobotomized sometime in the middle of his adventure or hours/days after his final kiss with Melina. Lastly, if the dream was meant for Doug to release O2 into Mars’s atmosphere resulting in a blue sky then why would Rekall send in Edgemar when everything is going as it should just as McClane describes (People are trying to kill Doug left and right. He then meets a beautiful woman).

“remember Doug saying to Edgemar “How much is Cohaagen paying you for this?”.”

Again, that could be paranoia in a demented state during a hallucination.
The movie action deliberately does a very good job of drawing a fine line of ambiguity between whether it was real or dream; but it also gave several subtle, but concrete proofs that it WAS just a dream.

And what’s more: THE DIRECTOR SAID IT WAS A DREAM.
If you want to argue with that, YOU need to be lobotomized.

What is your problem? You’re honestly getting upset that people have come here to discuss a movie they like simply on the basis that they don’t agree with you, and that they would choose to interpret the film in their own way?

Oh, fantastic! The director said it was a dream! First of all, you haven’t provided any sources. Second of all, even provided that is the case, do you honestly believe that it completely negates the need for any further conversation? Will you not allow people to simply converse, argue, and enjoy this experience?

Based on your fervent efforts in thwarting any theory that isn’t your own, I’d either say you’re suffering from having absolutely nothing better to do than trying to hurt others, or you simply don’t believe your own crafted theory.

Sarah. Go outside. Breathe. Live, and wake up.
Maybe choose the empathetic package the next time around, instead of the narcissistic one.

Hey: I believe the writer left it up to the person watching his film, to make the decision. He wanted to say good movie either way. However, I believe that Quaid was truly living it. In the beginning of his recall the lady doc says I haven’t planted the chip yet and he already started with the fighting. The director, did it on purpose for this will be a war never to be solved. He dreamed it, He lived through it. I believe He did. but this is just one opinion of a million.

Yes, it’s entirely possible that the writer, being after all the final authority on the writer’s INTENT, could have intended that:
1. a guy who buys a recreational memory-implant where
2. he becomes a secret agent, and
3. goes to mars, and
4. meets a Femme-fatale he picked out,
5. meets a 2-headed monster who leads the rebels,
6. wins the rebels their victory,
7. becomes friends with the bad guy, and
8. discovers alien civilizations,
9. creates a blue sky on mars, and
10. Saves the day and gets the girl—

ALL just COINCIDENTALLY happened to be what REALLY HAPPENED– particularly when the doctor who INVENTED the “Mental Travel Agency” also got mixed up IN the adventure, and PREDICTED EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN– and what DOES happen.

But you know what?
That would MAKE this author, a bigger douce-bucket than the size of the Big Dipper; because THAT IS COMPLETELY MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE COINCIDENCE!
Seriously, the spaceship “Heart of Gold” would be jealous of that sort of “Infinite Improbability Drive.”
And anyone who suggests it, simply shows how their stupidity exceeds even that.

In my opinion I think something has been overlooked. Rekall was created specifically to activate agents. There is no way to activate them without some type of memory manipulation. Yes, Cohaagen says, “You go to Rekall and pop your memory chip before we can activate you.” But he does not deny Rekall is apart of that process. A public company that can activate agents is a perfect cover. I believe Quaid had a preimplanted desire to visit Rekall that just went off sooner than expected.

Of course, everyone says that the blue sky statement and alien artifacts pictures are proof it’s a dream but we are seeing and hearing from Quaid’s point of view. He already knows this and he is hearing and seeing what is already in his memory, the pictures, Melina (who he dreamed about before going to Rekall), etc. Cohaagen and Hauser had probably already discussed the the alien artifact would oxygenize the planet and they would lose control. They obviously had visited that area and even the technician said they had discovered all these artifacts so somehow they knew about them. So with these facts, the techs are also making statements to reinforce his supressed memory to further seal the deal so to speak and push him into activation.

Rekall was created for this purpose. They could not turn him away as that would look suspicious so they probably consulted Cohaagen and he told them to go ahead and move forward with his activation even though the time table was not right. In my opinion though the techs messed it up and popped his memory cap instead of activating him properly so they had to clean it up but Cohaagen could still use this problem to his advantage.

“In my opinion I think something has been overlooked. Rekall was created specifically to activate agents. There is no way to activate them without some type of memory manipulation.”

Uh…. say WHA?
According to the “it’s real” theory, Hauser had a memory-cap implanted that would make him think he was an ordinary construction-worker who went on vacation to Mars.
But rather than going to Mars, he goes to Rekall instead, who accidentally pops it because they obviously didn’t know he HAD one, so the Rekall staff figurs it’s the mysterious “Agency” is behind it (because interplanetary crime-syndicates are ALWAYS selling vacations, you know), and so just put it back, sedate him and dump him off, and he wakes up and still thinks he’s Quaid.
And the shit just gets deeper from there, until only a total shit-diver could possibly think it’s real because that’s what their brain is– total crap.

I just saw the movie another time. I’m not sure either way, but I’m leaning more towards the dream. It IS meant to be ambiguous, which is why I like the ending so much.

However, it seems to me that there are actually three possible endings:
1) The whole thing is real.
2) The whole thing is just a dream, and Quaid ends up being lobotomized.
3) The whole thing is just a dream, but everything (including the appearance of the doctor) is part of the Rekall implant. Quaid wakes up and continues on with his life.

Theory #1: Once Quaid goes unconscious at Rekall the movie is simply showing us the events of the ego trip that he purchased.

1. Rekall implants memories. Memories are 100% from your perspective. There are far too many scenes where Quaid is not there or even conscious. For instance he is unconscious while the Rekall salesman tells the technicians to wipe his memories and dump him in a cab. Are we to believe that this scene is part of his ‘memory’? Even if it was (some sort of out of body 3rd person memory), then why could he not remember how he got in the cab? It would be in his ….memory!

2. If the entire movie was a memory, implanted by Rekall for entertainment, why would it involve violently murdering his coworker, wife, and assaulting various employees at Rekall? Where would they even get these memories to implant, wouldn’t they need to have his wife and everyone else pre-programmed into the ‘secret agent’ ego trip before they wrote it into his memory?

Theory #1 – Impossible

Theory #2: Quaid really was Evil Hauser. Evil Hauser had his memories and personality overwritten to be the Good Hauser. This would allow Hauser to infiltrate the rebels with all their mind readers, since to them he would appear to have betrayed Cohaagen. At some point Cohaagen recaptures good Hauser. He returns his memories back to him, turning him back into Evil Hauser. They devise a cover for him, and wipe his memories once again, with that of a newly married construction worker. He’s plopped off planet, where he would live in wait until Cohaagen would enact the elaborate ruse he and Evil Hauser set up for Quaid. Once activated, the memory wiped version of Quaid would return to Mars, win the trust of the rebels, and somehow lead Cohaagen to them. A plan so crazy that it actually works. Construction worker Quaid, driven by the need to discover his spy identity and stop his ‘true nemesis’ Cohaagen actually does everything Cohaagen and Hauser planned out for him to do. The rebels are discovered and destroyed in short order.

1. This plan is insane, although that isn’t enough to write it off as impossible

2. How did Rekall have Quaid’s memories in their ‘Secret Agent’ ego trip ? For example it was called ‘Blue Sky on Mars’, featured two headed monsters, the alien artifact, and had a perfect 3D model of Melina all pre-programmed. It would not be prudent for memories from an actual secret agent to be used by Rekall to implant in random people. Perhaps the program was specifically designed for Quaid to reactivate him? The technician never saw this particular program before. But then why would Hauser react so badly to it if it was custom designed just for him by Evil Hauser and Cohaagen? Doesn’t seem plausible. Perhaps Melina’s image was used by the program designers, they could have hired her and a bunch of other prostitutes on Mars to get full body scans for their ego trips. The 2 headed monster theme and alien artifact theme could have also been inspired by actual things happening on contemporary Mars. There are all sorts of mutants living on Mars after all. And the image of the alien artifact in the ego trip looked close, but not exactly like the one on Mars. It had smooth curved lines, while the one on mars was made up of sharp concentric quadrilaterals. And the title? Blue Sky on Mars? Well, believe it or not Mars like Earth does have a blue sky from time to time, you can google it. Yeah it’s a stretch, but mysteries often use red herrings.

3. Why did Cohaagen send in the Rekall ad guy into Quaid’s room to drug him? Why try to capture Quaid at all at this point? To stage an escape, so he could gain the rebel’s trust? Seems implausible, but Cohaagen is crazy smart and had that elaborate plan all worked out with evil Hauser after all.

Conclusion: – Implausible but not impossible

Theory #3: Quaid was having a ‘schizoid embolism’. The plot holes make this the most tempting possibility, but also the laziest. Reality and fantasy are mixed up and nothing has to make sense. Things like having the mountain you are sitting on explode and fill the planet with breathable air in 25 seconds saving your life makes sense, if you are in lala land. But would not a psychotic event be a little more surreal? Sure this story was filled with paranoia, mutants, violence and adventure, but as a story and a set of characters it was coherent. How many of your crazy hallucinations take the form of a well written hollywood script? Was Quaid hallucinating a whole complex and coherent story, filled with a cast of independently motivated characters and whole scenes of dialog and exposition even when he wasn’t in the room? Wanting to explain away plot holes alone is not enough to justify this possibility, nonetheless it exists.

Conclusion: Possible, if not the laziest way to excuse plot and science holes

Theory #4: Quaid was having a dream, inspired by his Rekall ego trip

1. Rekall doesn’t do dreams, they give you some fun memories, then kick you out the door. We never see Quaid leave Rekall then go home and jump into his pajamas and off to dreamland. The movie starts with a dream, perhaps that was an allusion.

Conclusion: Possible

Theory #5: Everything in the movie is a dream until he is ‘activated’ by Rekall

1. This would explain why he sees Melina in his first dream, and also at Rekall before the procedure. But it’s a long shot. His trip to Rekall would be totally unnecessary if this was the case, he would simply wake up and buy a ticket to Mars. And he would certainly not be running from a bunch of guys trying to kill him. They would be shooting blanks and pretending to chase him, or else they would risk actually killing their super spy.

Theory #6: Quaid only started having his schizoid embolism during the memory wipe on Mars. Up to that point he really was Quaid (albeit really evil Hauser with the memories of good Hauser wiped into Quaid)

1. all the worst plot and science holes happen after this point. I’m guessing it’s just because they wanted the film to go out with a bang, opposed to saying anything about what’s really happening with Quaid.

Conclusion: Unlikely but possible

Theory #7: The script writers, producers and directors did their best to provide multiple possibilities for audiences to ponder, while leaving enough flexibility in the script to incorporate whatever schlocky action sequences they wanted.

Yes, it’s entirely possible that the writer, being after all the final authority on the writer’s INTENT, could have intended that:
1. a guy who buys a recreational memory-implant where
2. he becomes a secret agent, and
3. goes to mars, and
4. meets a Femme-fatale he picked out,
5. meets a 2-headed monster who leads the rebels,
6. wins the rebels their victory,
7. becomes friends with the bad guy, and
8. discovers alien civilizations,
9. creates a blue sky on mars, and
10. Saves the day and gets the girl—

ALL just COINCIDENTALLY happened to be what REALLY HAPPENED– particularly when the doctor who INVENTED the “Mental Travel Agency” also got mixed up IN the adventure, and PREDICTED EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN– and what DOES happen.

But you know what?
That would MAKE this author, a bigger douche-bucket than the size of the Big Dipper; because THAT IS COMPLETELY MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE COINCIDENCE!
Seriously, the spaceship “Heart of Gold” would be jealous of that sort of “Infinite Improbability Drive.”
And anyone who suggests it, simply shows how their stupidity exceeds even that.

“Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a construction worker in the distant future. He is happily married to Lori (Sharon Stone), but is dissatisfied with his place in life. She teases him about a recurring nightmare about being on Mars with a beautiful woman who is not his wife. On the way to work he sees an advertisement on the subway TV for ReKall, Inc., a facility that implants fake memories of ideal vacations. Against the advice of his co-worker Harry (Robert Costanzo), Doug visits ReKall and orders a special package that will implant memories of an adventure trip on Mars as a secret agent. Before the procedure begins, he is asked to select a woman of his choice. He chooses a brunette, with an athletic body, and a sleazy and demure personality.

Before the memory implantation procedure can begin, Quaid goes into a violent rage, ranting about his cover being blown and how men are coming to kill him. He tries to break free of his restraints, and the ReKall director tries to calm Quaid. Quaid responds by throttling him and muttering, “My name is not Quaid!” The technicians tranquilize him and he falls unconscious. The ReKall director believes that Doug was acting out the secret agent part of the trip, but learns that the memories have not yet been implanted. The technicians realize that Doug’s memory had previously been erased. To cover their involvement, the ReKall director orders his team to erase his memories of Rekall, refund his credits, and send him home.

Quaid awakens in a Johnny Cab that takes him to a subway station where he can catch a train home. While walking through the subway, he is attacked and detained by several men led by Harry, his co-worker. They accuse him of blabbing about Mars while he was at ReKall, although because ReKall erased his memory, Quaid cannot remember anything about ReKall or being on Mars. Harry prepares to shoot Quaid, but Quaid fights back, successfully killing off Harry and all of his men. He doesn’t understand how he could have these skills and is horrified at his actions.

Quaid rushes back home to Lori and tells her what happened. She recognizes that he’s regained his memory of Mars and attacks him. They fight and Doug subdues and interrogates her. Holding a gun that he took from her to her head, Quaid pressure Lori into revealing that his original identity has been erased and a new one implanted, which included her as his wife so she could watch over him for past six weeks. An astonished Quaid asks, “If I’m not me, who the hell am I?”

A video monitor in Quaid’s apartment displays the arrival of several men with weapons outside their apartment building. Quaid knocks Lori out and flees. He is pursued by Lori’s real husband Richter (Michael Ironside), an agent of a mysterious Agency led by Vilhos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), the corporate dictator of Mars. Richter is intent on killing Quaid who he apparently knew on Mars. Lori greets Richter as her real-life husband. Richter and his men try to kill Quaid as they chase him through the streets and into an underground subway station. As Quaid escapes he kills some of Richter’s men. Cohaagen contacts Richter and asks about the gunfight. Richter explains that he is “trying to neutralize a traitor.” Cohaagen angrily orders Richter not to kill Quaid because they still need him. He tells Richter that Quaid must be captured alive for re-implantation. Richter, intent on killing Quaid, pretends he has a bad connection and hangs up. Richter’s right-hand man, Helm, tells Richter they’ve located Quaid using a tracking device.

Doug finds a room in a cheap, anonymous hotel, but a mysterious man calls him in his room and tells him he as a suitcase for him. Quaid, puzzled, asks who he is. The man says they were agents together on Mars. He tells Quaid that there is a bug inside his skull that allows Richter to track him. Following the man’s instructions, Quaid wraps his head in a wet towel to disrupt the tracking signal. He gets the suitcase and as he is leaving the hotel Richter and Helm arrive. They chase Quaid in another Johnny Cab taxi who escapes their violent pursuit and flees to an abandoned factory. Richter uses the tracking device to follow Quaid there.

When Quaid opens the case a screen plays a recording of himself. He finds a variety of spy gear inside the suitcase. The recording tells Quaid he was originally Hauser, a high-ranking member of the Agency and Cohaagen’s key agent. In the recording, Hauser tells Quaid that he met Melina (Rachel Ticotin), an agent for rebels on Mars, and that she convinced him to switch sides. Hauser says that Cohaagen discovered his treason, the Agency erased his identity and a new one implanted. In the new identity, Quaid was exiled to Earth where he could be watched. Hauser tells Quaid how to remove the tracking device from his skull. After Quaid successfully extracts the bug, Hauser tells him to go to Mars and connect with the rebels to help destroy Cohaagen’s empire.

Quaid arrives on Mars at a giant domed mining colony half-buried in the martian landscape. Many of the people living on Mars are deformed and possess psychic abilities caused by the mixture of solar radiation and shoddy air quality provided by Cohaagen. Cohaagen’s men follow Quaid to Mars and locate him in the immigration and customs facility. They attempt to kill Quaid but he escapes.

Later in Cohaagen’s office, he angrily tells Richter that he doesn’t have all the information about Quaid and he needs to follow orders.

Quaid gets a suite at the Hilton and retrieves a note from a hotel safe that he left for himself. It tells him to contact Melina at The Last Resort. Outside the hotel, a mutant taxi driver named Benny (Mel Johnson Jr.), persuades Quaid to let him take him to Venusville and The Last Resort, a bar and brothel. Quaid finds Melina, who strongly resembles the woman he requested at Rekall, but he can’t remember her and she doesn’t believe his story. She orders him to leave at gunpoint.

Quaid returns to the Hilton and is visited by Dr. Edgemar (Roy Brocksmith), the founder of ReKall, who Quaid saw in a Rekall ad on Earth. Edgemar tells Quaid that everything that has happened since his trip to Rekall is all in his mind. He says everything Quaid has experienced since falling unconscious at ReKall on planet Earth has been a dream due to a “schizoid embolism” and “acute neurological trauma”. Quaid, disbelieving, holds him at gunpoint. Edgemar tells Quaid his entire experience matches the dreams he asked to be implanted.

Edgemar opens the hotel door and Lori enters. She pleads with Quaid to listen to Dr. Edgemar. Edgemar offers Doug a pill, “a symbol of his desire to return to reality.” He says Quaid must take the pill voluntarily to escape his permanent dream state. If he does, he will fall asleep and then wake up at the memory implant facility on Earth. He tells Quaid that if he doesn’t take the pill, he will end up lobotomized and his mind will be trapped in this alternate reality forever. Quaid seriously considers the offer, but before he can swallow the pill, he spots a drop of sweat on the nervous Dr. Edgemar’s face. He thinks this confirms that he is experiencing reality and not a dream and immediately shoots and kills Edgemar. A team of men break suddenly break through the room’s walls and capture Quaid.

Lori and Richter’s men take the subdued Quaid to an elevator. When the elevator doors open, Melina opens fire with a sub-machine gun, killing all but Lori. Melina and Lori fight, but just as Lori is about to stab Melina with a knife, Quaid shoots the knife out of her hand. She looks up, telling he wouldn’t hurt her because they’re married. Seeing her reaching for a gun, Quaid shoots her dead, replying, “Consider that a divorce.”

Richter and Helm chase Melina and Quaid. They flee the hotel where Benny is conveniently waiting for them. He takes them to Venusville and The Last Resort. They hide behind a secret panel. The rebels and Cohaagen’s security forces engage in a firefight during which Helm and several of Richter’s security forces are killed. Richter barely escapes and takes command of a platoon of reinforcements. Cohaagan calls Richter after hearing about the firefight and orders him to pull back. Richter and his men retreat and the entire neighborhood is sealed off and the oxygen circulation system and fans feeding the area are turned off.

Quaid is taken by the rebels to meet Kuato, the unknown leader of the rebellion. Kuato is psychic and can spot undercover Martian agents and extract information from them. They hope that Kuato can read Quaid’s mind and find key information that will help them defeat Cohaagen and free Mars from his dictatorship. They take Quaid to see George (Marshall Bell), a high ranking rebel officer, before he can meet Kuato. They meet George in a private room, who opens his shirt to reveal that he is also Kuato, a conjoined, symbiotic creature with only a small head and arms. Kuato reads Quaid’s mind and sees a vision of alien ruins, that have been rumored to lie underneath Mars. Cohaagen has kept their existence secret because it would convert the tribidium and make it worthless.

The rebel hideout is attacked by Cohaagen’s forces who massacre the rebels. Quaid, Melina, Benny and George/Kuato flee. As they prepare to escape, Benny suddenly shoots and kills George/Kuato, revealing that he is a covert agent of Cohaagen. Before Kuato dies, he tells Quaid to start the reactor. Richter finishes Kuato off and takes Quaid and Melina to Cohaagen.

In his office, Cohaagen smugly explains to Quaid that the entire operation was a trap conceived by Hauser and Cohaagen. They devised a plan to trick Kuato by erasing Hauser’s memory and implanting memories making him into Quaid so he could pass Kuato’s psychic test. Quaid doesn’t believe Cohaagen, but Cohaagen plays a recording made by Hauser before he became Quaid. Hauser, with Cohaagen at his side, congratulates Quaid for helping wipe out the rebels. Cohaagen orders that the oxygen supply to a large part of the Mars colony that aided the rebels be completely cut off.

Quaid and Melina are taken to a memory implant facility so that Hauser’s memories and personality can be restored. Melina will be implanted with memories making her subservient. During the memory programming procedure, Quaid escapes from his chair, frees Melina, and kills the tech workers and all the guards. The two head down to the alien ruins. Quaid explains to Melina that Kuato helped him remember that the ruins are actually reactors that will create enough air for the entire planet, and would thus cause Cohaagen to lose control of Mars.

Quaid and Melina get to the ruins. They are attacked by Benny, who is driving a gigantic mining drilling machine. Quaid impales Benny with a power mining drill. They then find a way to the reactor, where a large platoon of soldiers, led by Richter, are waiting for them. Doug utilizes a hologram device to confuse the soldiers while he and Melina gun them all down. Richter boards a freight elevator that ascends to the ruins’ control panel. Quaid jumps on and the two fight, ending with Richter having his arms ripped off and falling to his death.

Quaid makes it to the reactor control area, where Cohaagen is waiting for him; he has rigged the control facility to explode, and is just about to kill Quaid when he is shot and wounded by Melina. He activates the bomb, but Quaid throws it away before it detonates. The explosion rips a hole in the wall, causing depressurization. As Quaid and Melina hang on for dear life, Cohaagen is sucked into the atmosphere and lands in the Martian landscape, where he quickly dies from the lack of oxygen and the massive solar radiation. Quaid manages to turn the reactor on just before he and Melina are sucked into the atmosphere as well, but they are saved as the reactor releases a large amount of breathable air, which washes over the entire atmosphere. The people who were dying can now breathe freely again.

As Quaid and Melina gaze in astonishment at the Martian sky, which is now blue and clouded, Quaid wonders if he really is having a dream and if all of this is really happening in his head back on Earth at Rekall. Hearing this, Melina invites him to: “kiss me quick before you wake up.” He and Melina kiss as the screen fades to white.”

Most of you would have believed the company and taken the pill, believed the wife and gone home…LOL you are all incapable of constructive thought.

“Quaid is the only one who isn’t real – Hauser and Cohagen invented Quaid as a means to infiltrate the mutant underground (Quaid was created when Cohagen wiped Hauser). This artificial personality is more humane than either of these men – and it is in this that Total Recall touches on the same idea as explored in Blade Runner (Ridley Scott aslo directed) – synthetic minds outpacing natural minds in regards to empathy; and thus becoming more human than humans.”

Total Recall wasn’t a dream – the sky is blue because of the new atmosphere as a direct result of the events that occurred. Quaid worked with the company until they wiped his memory to use him as a spy in order to kill the revolution leader. When they wiped his memory it allowed him a new perspective on life; and his newfound understanding allowed him to make the right decision (turn on machine, give air to the people) instead of going back with the company like he was before. The fact that he chose all of the options in his screening room was a nod to dreams, reality, and manifesting our destinies. The man clearly states “We didn’t turn the machine on yet” when Quaid starts freaking out. The rest of the misdirection from the company about “Take the pill or terrible things will happen” and the effort his fake wife goes through to get him to stop is just an effort to protect their investment and kill Quaid before he turns on the Martian machine. It is another level of misdirection. Anyone who does not see what I am saying is humorous.

The whole movie is a testament to memory, dreams, the recognition of self, and the ability to change.﻿ Quaid is working with a corrupt company on Mars until they set up his whole backstory, wipe him, and send him to infiltrate the revolution. He wakes up to morality, compassion, empathy – ergo he dissolves his EGO and realizes what is real. If you think it was all a dream – you are trapped in EGO.

The real question of the movie is as follows:
Do you think it is a dream? If so, you would take the pill or do whatever the company/spouse said – i.e. you do nothing or worse.

Do you know it is real? If so, you do something about it like Quaid did – that’s the Ego part of it. The music in the credits was to make more people doubt the truth – i.e. doubt themselves.

>>”Total Recall wasn’t a dream – the sky is blue because of the new atmosphere as a direct result of the events that occurred. ”

The Rekall-technicians MENTIONED to each other, that the “blue sky on Mars” was the PLOT of the “Ego Trip–” along with “2-headed monsters” (i.e. Quaato and his conjoined twin “host”).

But you’re saying that this is just a coincidence.

The salesman TELLS Arnold that the “Ego Trip” will seem like a vacation where he goes to Mars as a secret agent, and saves everyone while on a 2-week vacation.

So ideally, Arnold was supposed to think he went to Mars, found he was a secret agent, meets a femme-fatale (that he picks out in advance at the Rekall office from computer-models), beats the bad guys, terraforms the planet, and saves everyone while becoming a hero.

However things go wrong when there’s another malfunction, and he has a “bad trip, dude;” and they try to save him by getting him to wake up; but he clings to his fantasy, and ends up living it out to the end… lobotomized.

Sounds like a typical Hollywood-elite insult to their audience, when they say that the hero would rather DIE than live a normal average life, like Peter Pan where the kids stay in Neverland forever.

On Mars, the doctor TELLS Arnold EXACTLY what’s going to happen– and it HAPPENS.
Sure, it’s not a dream! He says:

“The walls of reality will come crashing in: one minute you’ll be the savior of the rebel cause, the next you’ll be Cohagen’s bosom-buddy.
You’ll even have fantasies about alien civilizations– AS YOU REQUESTED.”

And of course, we KNEW about the “blue sky on Mars and the 2-headed monster,” since the Rekall technicians MENTIONED it, as they were preparing the memory-implant.

And that stuff ALL HAPPENS.

So it seems a little convenient that he knew EXACTLY what was going to happen in advance., if it was NOT an implanted memory.

Why would he bother TELLING him all this, if it was REAL and just PLANNED by the bad guy as part of the deception?
Was the doctor planning ahead, for if Arnold DID shoot him, to just keep playing out the hoax?

“Before the memory implantation procedure can begin, Quaid goes into a violent rage,”

CORRECTION:
The Rekall staff begins the procedure, and Quaid falls asleep and the sccne FADES OUT.
Next, the action cuts to a SCENE where Quaid goes into a violent rage.
This is the crucial moment, where the ambiguity begins, whether it’s real or a dream– because it’s trying to show Quaid’s perspective. We, the audience, don’t know whether it’s real or a dream– and neither does Quaid– even at the end.

But you want proof? HE NEVER PINCHES HIMSELF!
That’s the FIRST thing you do if you think you’re dreaming but you’re really awake, and he never does– so clearly HE WAS DREAMING!
Because you can only pinch yourself when you’re awake: EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!

I vote for “Yes! Quaid actually got his ass to Mars!” and here is why…

In the beginning when Quaid is talking to his construction buddy, Henry, and mentions about wanting to go to Rekall he tells him reasons why he shouldn’t go and after he does he gives him, the look. To me this look tells me that he’s in on the whole thing and it’s a dirty look as if to say “you better now even think about going there.”

And when Quaid goes to Rekall and flips out about getting his cover blown they mention about how it’s impossible for him to be acting out his implant because that memory wasn’t even implanted yet and are scared the agency could be in on it so they dump him in the cab… To me that whole scene shows that it’s a great possibility it’s the real deal and no dream.

Also, when the Rekall guy comes to convince Quaid to take the pill to bring him back to “reality”, he sweats. Quaid then kills him for this very reason because it begs the question, why would he be sweating? Nervous that his scam wouldn’t work and fears imminent death?
Then after this Quaid’s “wife” complains about how pissed she is for making her come to Mars because he knows how much she hates that planet… So why would she have to come to Mars if she was really at the Rekall center like the guy said she was?

I know there are many reasons why one would say it was all a dream because of so many other coincidences but to me, these reasons are why I say it was all really just a coincidence.

“In the beginning when Quaid is talking to his construction buddy, Henry, and mentions about wanting to go to Rekall he tells him reasons why he shouldn’t go and after he does he gives him, the look. To me this look tells me that he’s in on the whole thing and it’s a dirty look as if to say “you better now even think about going there.”

That’s a deliberate “point of ambiguity” in the script: we don’t know if he might be an undercover agent, OR he might just be worried about his friend doing something stupid, that he warned him NOT to do, but he seems like he might do it anyway. And the Rekall salesman ADMITS to Arnold, that a guy DID get lobotomized, which backs up his friend’s story.

We see the same “ambiguity” screen-device with Sharon Stone, where Arnold complains to her about wanting to go to Mars; and when he leaves for work, we see she’s very concerned– that’s another “point of ambiguity,” where we don’t know if she’s an undercover agent worried about the mission failing, or whether she’s just a concerned wife worried about her husband’s distress.

This is all a set-up to what happens after Arnold goes under the Rekall machine; that’s the point where things begin to get weird, and we don’t know if it’s real or a hallucination.

In “A Beautiful Mind,” we see the true story where a math-prof who did a little decoding for the government, also has schizophrenia, and hallucinates that he’s an actual secret agent for the CIA against foreign spies– including James Bond adventures, implanted chips, and high-speed chases with gunfire etc. of course, this all turns out to be in his mind.

Here, it looks even more bizarre, involving an interplanetary conspiracy to rule Mars and hide an alien super-machine that can terraform the planet in seconds.
But we’re to believe it’s REAL.
I don’t. If it’s supposed to be real, the writer is a hack.

Yeah– LOBOTOMIZED.
Sure, a doctor is going to risk his life for money, or because some agency told him to, all as part of a big interplanetary conspiracy to hide a giant alien generator that can turn Mars into another Earth… oh yeah, that’s not some paranoid hallucination!

This is where the story really proved it was a hallucination, since if it was real then it would require that
1) the Rekall doctor– the same one from the TV commercial– is going to:
2) go to Mars in a few hours;
3) risk his life with a gun-wielding mind-altered undercover-spy,
4) to try to convince him he’s not really there,
5) all as a part of some huge conspiracy involving a Big-govenrment “agency” trying to enslave people on Mars, and hide a huge alien reactor that can terraform Mars in SECONDS
6) when the bad guys WANTED Arnold to infiltrate the rebels and find the leader, and taking the Red Pill would RUIN that– and did advance that mission in ANY way, i.e. Cohagen, being the governor of Mars, would never allow it to HAPPEN if it was real; but it could ONLY happen if it was a DREAM.

1. You go to Mars, become a secret agent, and meet a 2-headed monster.
2. One minute you’re the savior of the rebel cause, the next you’re Cohagen’s bosom-buddy.
3. You’ll even have fantasies about alien civilizations– AS YOU REQUESTED.
4. It all ends up with a BLUE SKY ON MARS.

And:
5. People WERE lobotomized as a result of the Rekall-process BEFORE; and Arnold is told that the same will happen to HIM, if he doesn’t reject the fantasy by taking the Red Pill.
6. He’s told that if he refuses, then all the above WILL happen to him, exactly as in the fricking BROCHURE.

But he refuses, and ALL THIS STUFF HAPPENS to Arnold– EXACTLY LIKE HE WAS TOLD.

But “NO, it wasn’t an implanted dream!
It was REAL!”

Get the FUDGE out.
Just… GET out. You wouldn’t know a plot-point if it sent you a singing telegram that butt-raped you with a giant redwood-tree.

Okay, I think I’ve got it figured out.
The Ego-Trip involves:
1. Going to Mars, finding out you’re an undercover secret agent, and saving the rebel cause; but then
2. finding out it was all part of a huge deception by your alter-ego, Hauser, who wants to take back your body and join the bad guys.
3. You naturally REFUSE, and escape to go back to becoming yourself; and
4. You start the reactor, terraforming Mars and saving the rebels.
5. You become a hero, and get the Femme-Fatale that you picked out in the Rekall-office earlier.

6. Then you wake up in the Rekall office– where actually it’s just minutes later, but it feels like 2 weeks; and you just have the MEMORY of all the above, not the actual experience– and you realize it was ALL just a dream: JUST LIKE YOU PAID FOR.
So you say “Damn, that was the most AWESOME vacation EVER!”
Naturally, you have no memory of actually BEING Hauser, because it was just a part of the dream-SCRIPT.

However that wouldn’t be much of a movie, so naturally the drama comes in when it goes WRONG.
However there’s no happy ending in being lobotomized.

Remember when the nerdy guy in Rekal says: “Ahh that’s a new one, blue skies on Mars”
How could he already know the ending of the film and why would the director include such an obvious plot hole?

Well him going to Rekal is part of his Rekal experience. The entire movie is his dream. He went there before the movie begins.

This is why the woman he dreams of in the very beginning of the movie looks exactly like the woman designed for him by Rekal and why he later meets her.

Just like the main scientist at Rekal says:
“What is that is exactly the same about every vacation you’ve ever taken?”
“You! You’re the same.”

Regardless of how many times he goes to Rekal within his dream he will always have the same preference. The “evil” version of himself that talks to him through recorded messages isn’t actually him at all but just part of the dream. All this information is part of the Rekal experience in order to ease the patient out of dream by getting the patient to question the experience by the end of it. They tailor the experience to the patients memories but eventually every patient who goes to Rekal ends up going back to Rekal within their dream. When they wake up from the dream the puzzle pieces itself together and they realise they only went the first time.